Abstract
Introduction. It is estimated that every year 31 million people suffer from sepsis and even 6 million cases of illness end up in the patient’s death. In 2016 the current definition of sepsis was established as a life-threatening multiorgan failure resulting from an abnormal immune response caused by patient infection. The pathobiological approach rejects the current method of diagnosing sepsis based on the occurrence of SIRS, because many other non-infectious diseases may also cause its occurrence. There was proposed a scale of progressive organ failure called SOFA and qSOFA. In May 2017, WHO released a resolution that obliges European Union countries to raise awareness about sepsis prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management.
Results. A nurse is the person who spends the most time with a patient, thus becoming the best observer of changes in his/her vital functions and well-being. Nurses working in basic health care, hospital emergency ward and all departments not involved in intensive medical care, have an important role in prevention of infections, as over 70% of sepsis cases begins in a non-hospital environment, and the current level of public knowledge reaches only 14%.